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Our History. We've been family since 1888. What started as two brothers in business has now grown into one big family of associates, customers and the communities we serve. Throughout the years, we've changed and grown in so many ways. We've added exciting products, changed the way we work and made it easier to shop with new technology and services. The future is bright as we continue to grow, and we can't wait.
  • An old brick storefront with New York Racket on the side. 1888. William Henry Belk opens his first store in Monroe, NC called the New York Racket. His brother, Dr. John Belk, joins as a partner.
  • An old black and white photo fo a Belk storefront with a Christmas Sale sign. 1923. The Belk name takes off with 27 new stores and local partners. These partners share ownership and their names on each storefront.
  • An old Belk ad. Belk's Stores, the south's largest distributors of reliable merchandise. 1943: Belk opens its 195th store and is proclaimed to be the South's largest distributors of reliable merchandise.
  • Belk's corporate headquarters in Charlotte. 1988: Belk headquarters moves to its current hometown of Charlotte, NC as the company celebrates 100 years in business. Cheers!
  • John Belk with his nephew Tim Belk. 2004. John Belk retires and his nephew, Tim Belk, is named CEO. This starts the third generation of Belk family leadership.
  • A Belk storefront with palm trees outside. 2005. Belk acquires more than 90 Profitts, McRae's and Parisian department stores from Saks, Inc.
  • A more updated Belk storefront with the brand's leaves logo. 2015: Tim, McKay and John R. Belk decide to sell the company to Sycamore Partners.
  • Lisa Harper, CEO of Belk. 2015. Lisa Harper joins the company as the first female, non-Belk CEO. #girlpower
  • Phones showing the Belk website and app. 2019. The Belk brand gets a makeover iwth new logo, graphics and omni-capabilities.
  • Nir Patel, CEO of Belk. 2021. Nir Patel commits to uphold Belk's great legacy as he takes over as CEO.
We've been family since 1888. What started as two brothers in busines has now grown into one big famly of associates, customers and the communities we serve. Throughout the years, we've changed and grown in so many ways. We've added exciting products, changed the way we work and made it easier to shop with new technology and services. The future is bright as we continue to grow - and we can't wait!